.ghoti.

I agree completely

Yum Houdini shad. Getting hard to find.

So sayeth Hannibal Lector.

Since both salt and sugar are preservatives I add a little of each while cooking down the sauce. When I take some out of the freezer I will add salt, sugar, or both depending on the dish. I prefer Aleppo pepper for heat, but the heat seems to dissipate after being frozen, so I don't put it in before freezing.

I should mention, there is no meat in the sauce I freeze. Just tomato, onion, peppers, garlic, basil, oregano and olive oil.

Several tomato varieties, as many hot pepper varieties as I can find, cucumbers and annual herbs in the garden. perennial herbs in pots. Near the end of the season, when the plants are full, I make spaghetti sauce. I put one cup of the cooked down sauce in a freezer rated ziplok and freeze it. One bag equals one serving. I take out as many as I need. I never make enough to last much past January, so I don't know how long the sauce will stay good when preserved in this fashion. If you want it to last until the next year's harvest, you probably need to pressure can. I freeze it because I don't like adding the extra acid required for long term storage.

I will not get involved. Made that mistake once. Never again. It's a long story, which does not need to be told.

PM works, the report function works as well. Except for Long Mike. You need to send smoke signals to that crusty old fart.

Now that's funny right there.

I use an 1/8oz skipgap jigheaad with a Zman or 3X worm most of the time. I go heavier occasionally. I use a baitcast combo. If I go down to 1/16oz I'll switch to spinning gear. I'll also use spinning gear when in deep water.

I've also tried PS, at John's recommendation. It does work a bit better than Simple Green. SG still smells better. For most cleaning tasks I prefer SG over PS. I will still use PS for the most stubborn cleaning tasks. I have stopped using acetone, lighter fluid, carb cleaner, brake cleaner, etc. There is simply no need to use harsh, toxic, flammable chemicals when a safer, environmentally friendly alternative is available. It's always amusing to me to read these arguments. Any of the cleaning agents mentioned above will produce acceptable results. In all cases, it's about the process. If you've developed a process which gives results acceptable to you, then use it. There is no need to belittle anybody elses process because you think yours is better. If that's all you can bring to the discussion, I suggest you shut the **** up. Here's a technique I hesitate to bring up. When in a hurry, I use this to get bearings clean. Place all bearings, shileds removed in a flat bottom bowl. ( A ramiken, to get all Bed Bath and Beyond on you.) pour in enough Simple Green to cover and place in the microwave. Make sure the bearings are touching each other. Arcing will occur if you nuke them too long, with a gap between. Six bearings, in the bowl I use, for six seconds, on high, in my microwave is perfect. When doing a mid-season touch up, and only clean the spool bearings, I use a shot glass, two spool bearings for four seconds. You will need to experiment with your setup. Metal absorbs microwave radiation much, much more readily than water. Metal will also become charged from the absorption of this energy. Thus the arcing if timed too long. Remove the bowl and allow to stand until the liquid becomes clear again. Rinse with very hot water. I put the bearings in a fine mesh strainer and pour boiling DI water from a teapot over them. Allow to air dry. If you have DI water already heated, the whole process takes about two minutes, start to finish. Works very nicely with Simple Green. I have not tried it with Perfect Solution. And now a warning, and the reason I hesitated to post this. DO NOT USE THIS PROCESS WITH LIGHTER FLUID, ACETONE, OR ANY OTHER FLAMMABLE LIQUID. Placing a flammable liquid, with metal parts, into the microwave is a pretty good way to make a bomb.

The music of the spheres.

Amen, brother

Well, you and I may just have to agree to disagree. LOL I continue to do so because, first, the small gain is worth the cost to me. Secondly, stainless, shielded ABEC 7 bearings are whisper quiet when properly cleaned and lubed. That's a bigger deal to me. I believe my reels should be seen and not heard. It all depends on your goals.If you want all out balls to the wall performance, you're going to do certain things. What I'm after is smooth and quiet. With that said, all my reels have carbontex drags and polished drag washers. SMooth and quiet. All have 4BB handles. Smooth and quiet. Almost all have SS abec7 spool bearings. Smooth and quiet. Almost all have had a full internal polishing of all moving contact points. Smooth and quiet. I need three more sets of spool and bearings, and two polishing jobs to complete the set, and than I'm done for a while. (yeah, right) Four Alphas, four Zillions, six Fuegos, a Viento and a TD-Z. I don't need any more reels. These should do me for a few years.

Most of my Daiwa baitcasters have ABEC7 stainless steel spool bearings. I can't sit here, and with a straight face, tell you that it was money and time truly well spent. The reels cast a little bit better, mostly a case of less effort rather than incredible distance gains. Most of the performance upgrade is used up with increased thumb or braking pressure. You need to be a very experienced caster to realize the small improvement provided by upgraded bearings. You've just had three experienced service techs before me tell you to properly clean and lube your existing bearings first. Do that, and see what happens. You may very well be impressed. Now, a drag washer upgrade(carbontex) and a four bearing handle are both valid improvements. I'd do those before ever upgrading bearings. Your choice of lube for the spool bearings is critical. There are some very light, low viscosity oils available which will yield performance improvements. If you're one of those people who service their reels once per year, these oils are not for you. Use something heavier, and thus longer lasting. You won't get an entire season's performance with any of the really light oils.

There will not be one answer to this question. Too many variables for that. What reel, what line, what bait, what rod, what distance do you need? Change one of those and the answer likely changes. I prefer to pitch with my Zillion reels for one reason. Clicking spool tension knob. from my normal casting settings I back off the spool tension 3 clicks, and increase the mag brakes 3 clicks. That's what works for me. Your mileage may vary.

I can't argue with any of that.

Roger, I know of what you speak. My dad spent the last ten years in a nursing home. Alzheimer's is a cruel disease. Maybe not to the victim, but certainly to the rest of the family. Once he started showing symptoms, his decline was rapid. It's been at least six years since he knew who I was. His physical decline was almost as fast. When he died last week, he was not much more than skin and bones. It was a heartbreaking thing to see. My thoughts are with you and your wife. Take as much time as you can with Mom, while she still has some lucid periods. Speaking from experience, it's all you can do.

I'm contented with my life at this point. I'm happy most of the time. I have two jobs I like, a great wife, some awesome kids and grandkids. What else does a guy need? I don't have everything I want, but I have everything I need. I've had two heart attacks, and I'm still on the shiny side of the sod, so, yeah, it's all good.

I'll have to put a little thought into that myself.

Once again, I will not be charging anybody for the food and drinks. I will be taking donations for Glenn's Tackle the Storm Foundation. All proceeds will go directly to that fine cause. I'll accept any assistance anybody is willing to give. Mostly for the cleanup afterward. I'll be setting everything up during the afternoon, and will not ask anybody to give up any fishing time. I can handle the setup myself.

It's time for me to begin menu planning for the Soiree. Sometime soon, let me know if you plan to be there Wednesday evening. Respond here, or PM, if you would please. I need to know how much chow to buy. I'll have sandwich bar setup. Roast beef, ham, a variety of breads, a variety of sliced cheeses, lettuce, sliced onion, sliced tomato, mustard, mayo, horseradish and chips. I'll have a veggie tray and a fruit tray. I'll have a selection of cheeses and crackers. I'll have pickles, olives, peppers, etc. I'll have a case of wine and a cooler full of beer. If you have any requests, toss them in the hat. I'm not a caterer, but if enough people request the same thing, I'll make it happen.

I've become used to people saying "Gotti", like the gangster. And, every now and then "goatey", like a pervert.

Being the fine, upstanding Irishman that I am, I'm having spaghetti and meatballs.

All of my casting reels are Daiwa. My spinning reels are Daiwa and Flooger. Rods are different. I have 7 Setyr, 8 St Croix and 4 Daiwa. All other rods are one of a kind. A Dobyns Champion, an Airrus Tradition, a Fenwick Elite Tech and a Kistler Helium LTA. If I had to pick one rod, at this point in time I could go with the St Croix LTB series, and be perfectly happy with the choice.